college and change

April 4, 2009

I am back in my college town/hometown today for work. It’s a lovely place to walk around on a beautiful Spring day.

It’s an odd feeling though. It’s been awhile, and things have really changed. What was when I was a little girl the town was an old, quaint town with Victorian houses turned into shops and apartments. The college was part of the town, but not the entire town. It is now full of new brick buildings that look like they have character, but on closer inspection most have been built in the last 15 years.

The biggest change is seeing the plethora of chain restaurants that have moved in. Where once there was an old bar/concert hall/dump, there is now a condo building complete with a Cosi, and other businesses at street level.

One thing I noticed while walking the main street was how many restaurants offer the OCMP, or off campus meal plan. This was definitely NOT an option in my time, and I worked part-time just to be able to afford decent food, and the occasional night out.

I have no idea what tuition costs now as compared to what it was in my day (15 years ago), but I know it has gone up significantly. The big changes I SEE are in the cost of what the kids “need.” Laptops, iPods, cell phones, off-campus meal money, all that stuff really adds up! I’m not claiming I didn’t have help from my parents, but the amount was significantly less. I can’t imagine how much some parents must be spending, and if I add that up plus inflation for my 4 kids the number is SO astronomical I almost passed out.

I would like to help my kids pay for some of their college expenses, but it’s unlikely I’ll be able to afford all the extras as well. I also secretly think it will teach them a valuable lesson if they have to pay for some things on their own.

Did you pay for your college expenses and tuition? Did you work while you were in school?

More later, I have to go back to work.

Kelly

About Kelly

Kelly Whalen is the founder of The Centsible Life, a blog where motherhood and money meet. Her goal is to help readers live well on less. Kelly is a mom to 4, and loves that she can stay at home with her kids, and still pursue her passions for writing, personal finance, and social media. You can often find her on twitter and Facebook talking money and motherhood.

Tagged as: change, college

http://tnteam.us Jess

Great post!

In high school, my father told me that if I took care of getting accepted, he would take care of paying. Unfortunately, the college money my father had promised me disappeared when the tech bubble burst. Based on my mother’s income, I qualified for need-based financial aid. With my father’s income, I did not. For any school that took into account non-custodial income, that was a dealbreaker.

My dad was up front with me – he told me how much he could give me each year and let me make a choice from there. I chose to go to a state college rather than one of the private schools I was accepted to. I worked full time my first and second years, then part time for my last 1.5 years. 3.5 years – two majors and a minor (lots of $ for classes!). I came away with 10k in student loans – no credit card debt, fully paid off car.

My “mistake” was taking a year off after high school. Because I worked full time during my year off and my first year of college, my income disqualified me from receiving financial aid and work study. However, the experience from that job is why I was able to get my current position straight out of college.

Kelly

I have to say for full disclosure that I didn’t finish my undergraduate degree (yet). I was not happy where I was, and was really adrift trying to find myself so I took a year off. My parents warned me that I may never end up going back, and they were right! Maybe I should add that to my list of Top 5 Financial Mistakes!

Instead we started a family, and I supported my now husband going to school, and stayed at home with our baby.

One day I’ll go back just so I can say I did it. Maybe the oldest and I will be in the same classes.

http://tnteam.us/ Jess

Great post!

In high school, my father told me that if I took care of getting accepted, he would take care of paying. Unfortunately, the college money my father had promised me disappeared when the tech bubble burst. Based on my mother’s income, I qualified for need-based financial aid. With my father’s income, I did not. For any school that took into account non-custodial income, that was a dealbreaker.

My dad was up front with me – he told me how much he could give me each year and let me make a choice from there. I chose to go to a state college rather than one of the private schools I was accepted to. I worked full time my first and second years, then part time for my last 1.5 years. 3.5 years – two majors and a minor (lots of $ for classes!). I came away with 10k in student loans – no credit card debt, fully paid off car.

My “mistake” was taking a year off after high school. Because I worked full time during my year off and my first year of college, my income disqualified me from receiving financial aid and work study. However, the experience from that job is why I was able to get my current position straight out of college.

Kelly

I have to say for full disclosure that I didn’t finish my undergraduate degree (yet). I was not happy where I was, and was really adrift trying to find myself so I took a year off. My parents warned me that I may never end up going back, and they were right! Maybe I should add that to my list of Top 5 Financial Mistakes!

Instead we started a family, and I supported my now husband going to school, and stayed at home with our baby.

One day I’ll go back just so I can say I did it. Maybe the oldest and I will be in the same classes.

http://lookinggoodmom.blogspot.com Liz Muirhead

When I was heading to school, I had to choose between my first choice school, which cost $16k per year tuition, and an afterthought school I applied to, which cost $4800 per year tuition.

My parents set some $$ aside for my college when they divorced and sold our California house for a pretty big profit. However, that was before the market tanked in the late 1980s. My dad told me that if I went to my first choice, I’d need loans for all except the first year. But if I went to the “afterthought” school, there was enough to cover the whole thing.

I know my dad better now, so that might not have been true, but just his way to try to influence a reasoned decision. I ended up going to the afterthought school, and my dad covered tuition, room and board as long as I lived on campus, and gave me a monthly stipend for “pizza money.” I was an RA for the first semester of my sophomore year, and used part of that income to pay my sorority dues.

I ended up moving off campus in the second semester of my sophomore year, and got a job to pay my rent. Although I did have some credit card debt when I graduated (all accumulated with dumb purchases), it was less than about $3k, and I didn’t have any student loans. I am VERY happy with my education and school choice.

I think many potential students would benefit from a real heart-to-heart discussion about the financial implications of the school options, but many parents either don’t have the financial knowledge to have that conversation, or don’t want to make their children feel limited in their choices.

But I feel like my dad did the right thing. And as a result, I don’t plan to cover the full cost of college for my kids. At least, not right away. I will pay something towards school each year, and they will need loans or scholarships (or income) to cover the rest. And if they work hard and get good grades, I may help them pay off their loans after they graduate.

Hopefully by then, I’ll have enough stashed away for retirement that I can hold off on some of my 401k contributions and put that money towards education.
http://lookinggoodmom.blogspot.com/ Liz Muirhead

When I was heading to school, I had to choose between my first choice school, which cost $16k per year tuition, and an afterthought school I applied to, which cost $4800 per year tuition.

My parents set some $$ aside for my college when they divorced and sold our California house for a pretty big profit. However, that was before the market tanked in the late 1980s. My dad told me that if I went to my first choice, I’d need loans for all except the first year. But if I went to the “afterthought” school, there was enough to cover the whole thing.

I know my dad better now, so that might not have been true, but just his way to try to influence a reasoned decision. I ended up going to the afterthought school, and my dad covered tuition, room and board as long as I lived on campus, and gave me a monthly stipend for “pizza money.” I was an RA for the first semester of my sophomore year, and used part of that income to pay my sorority dues.

I ended up moving off campus in the second semester of my sophomore year, and got a job to pay my rent. Although I did have some credit card debt when I graduated (all accumulated with dumb purchases), it was less than about $3k, and I didn’t have any student loans. I am VERY happy with my education and school choice.

I think many potential students would benefit from a real heart-to-heart discussion about the financial implications of the school options, but many parents either don’t have the financial knowledge to have that conversation, or don’t want to make their children feel limited in their choices.

But I feel like my dad did the right thing. And as a result, I don’t plan to cover the full cost of college for my kids. At least, not right away. I will pay something towards school each year, and they will need loans or scholarships (or income) to cover the rest. And if they work hard and get good grades, I may help them pay off their loans after they graduate.

Hopefully by then, I’ll have enough stashed away for retirement that I can hold off on some of my 401k contributions and put that money towards education.
http://rainydaypennies.net Cathy

I see your point about the inflation costs of ‘school supplies’ aka laptops, Kelly. However, I have been taking a certification course and I am envious of the tools now available for notetaking that I didn’t have in college. I’ve been typing my notes in Evernote while in class instead of scribbling with my awful handwriting. If there is a drawing on the board, I take a picture of it with my cell phone. Amazing!

I wonder what technology will be available when your children reach college age. Maybe you’ll be telling them they need to buy their own hologram computer – mom and dad aren’t footing the bill!
http://rainydaypennies.net/ Cathy

I see your point about the inflation costs of ‘school supplies’ aka laptops, Kelly. However, I have been taking a certification course and I am envious of the tools now available for notetaking that I didn’t have in college. I’ve been typing my notes in Evernote while in class instead of scribbling with my awful handwriting. If there is a drawing on the board, I take a picture of it with my cell phone. Amazing!

I wonder what technology will be available when your children reach college age. Maybe you’ll be telling them they need to buy their own hologram computer – mom and dad aren’t footing the bill!
Julia

When I was in college my mother paid for my apartment and gave me a little extra for groceries. I got a few scholarships and used my savings (well, my parents’/grandparents’ savings for me). My last semester I took out a loan, I could have gotten the same scholarship I had been getting, but it required me to take 17 or more hours and I only needed 12 to graduate… I also started working (on campus) my junior year. For a while grading papers, then grading and being an undergraduate TA, at $9 & $10/hr they were pretty good gigs. Still paying off the one loan I have, well, not so much paying right now. I decided to go for my Master’s not too long ago, so my (subsidized) loan is in deferment. Once I have all the money saved up I’ll just pay it all off.
Julia

When I was in college my mother paid for my apartment and gave me a little extra for groceries. I got a few scholarships and used my savings (well, my parents’/grandparents’ savings for me). My last semester I took out a loan, I could have gotten the same scholarship I had been getting, but it required me to take 17 or more hours and I only needed 12 to graduate… I also started working (on campus) my junior year. For a while grading papers, then grading and being an undergraduate TA, at $9 & $10/hr they were pretty good gigs. Still paying off the one loan I have, well, not so much paying right now. I decided to go for my Master’s not too long ago, so my (subsidized) loan is in deferment. Once I have all the money saved up I’ll just pay it all off.
Sheila

Sounds like kind of a fun trip down memory lane, Kelly.

I have to admit I was extremely stupid when it came to college. My parents would have paid for four years, including living expenses, but I went for a year, then quit. My sister got her undergraduate and graduate degree with my parents paying for everything except summer if she wanted to stay in the college town and not come home. So I ended up paying for college and graduate school on my own later on when I decided I really wanted to finish school. It took me 13 years to get my B.S. degree because I’d work a while, then go to school until the money ran out, then work again. I did borrow money at the end because I wanted to finish up. By then I had two children, and it was difficult. But I didn’t have to borrow too much so I paid it off pretty quickly.
Sheila

Sounds like kind of a fun trip down memory lane, Kelly.

I have to admit I was extremely stupid when it came to college. My parents would have paid for four years, including living expenses, but I went for a year, then quit. My sister got her undergraduate and graduate degree with my parents paying for everything except summer if she wanted to stay in the college town and not come home. So I ended up paying for college and graduate school on my own later on when I decided I really wanted to finish school. It took me 13 years to get my B.S. degree because I’d work a while, then go to school until the money ran out, then work again. I did borrow money at the end because I wanted to finish up. By then I had two children, and it was difficult. But I didn’t have to borrow too much so I paid it off pretty quickly.